POND LIFE 



593 



NYMPH OF DRAGON. FLY. 



like polished turquoise. How vividly 

 they recall Tennyson's exquisite descrip- 

 tion of their final transformation : 



" To-day I saw the dragon-fly 

 Come from the wells where he did lie. 



An inner impulse rent the veil 

 Of his old husk : from head to tail 

 Came out dear plates of sapphire mail. 

 ^i * * * * 



He dried his wings : like gauze they grew ; 

 Thro' crofts and pastures wet with dew 

 A living flash of light he flew." 



Beautiful as is the surface of the pool, 

 could we but plunge beneath its waters, 

 and as we slowly sink towards the bottom, 

 diminish in size and at the same time 

 increase the magnifying powers of our 

 eyes, we should indeed enter a romantic 

 and magical world. A world peopled 

 with the strangest forms of 

 life, creatures at once grace- 

 ful, hideous, beautiful, bi- 

 zarre. Here, attached to 

 the stem of a water weed, is 

 a slender little tower crowned 

 by what looks like a beauti- 

 ful silver pansy, around the 

 petals of which there is a 

 dehcate chain of hairs in con- 

 stant mo\-ement. A gigantic 

 beetle flashes past, and the 

 silver pansy instantly dis- 

 appears within the miniature 

 tower out of harm's way. 

 Strange - looking creatures, 

 with cigar-shaped bodies and 

 long, slender legs, crawl 

 stealthily o\'er the floor of 

 the pond. amongst the 

 brown leaves and mud. 



Indeed it is a \-eritable 

 fairyland, this world be- 

 neath the surface of our 

 quiet pools, full of the 

 most wonderful and varied 

 collection of creatures and 

 plants. 



Let us examine more 

 closely these strange cigar- 

 shaped creatures, and see 

 \vhat we can find out about 

 their life-history. They are 

 the larvae of the Dragon- 

 fly, and for all their 

 sluggish movements are 

 amongst the most blood- 

 thirsty denizens of the pond. Though at 

 the first glance they look comparati\-ely 

 harmless, defenceless creatures, closer in- 

 spection reveals the fact that they are 

 armed \\ith a powerful and most extra- 

 ordinary \\'eapon of offence and defence, 

 in their lower " lip." This remarkable 

 organ is \-ery long, and furnished with a 

 pair of most formidable pincers or palps. 

 The " hp " is attached by a kind of hinge 

 to the chin of the insect, which is also 

 fairly long, and the whole weapon, when 

 not in use, rests against the under part 

 of the body. When seeking its prev. the 

 Dragon-fly larva remains quite motionless, 

 or only mo\'es very, very slowly and 

 cautiously along, so as not to attract 

 undue attention. Presently a small insect 

 passes by at what looks hke a safe distance, 



THE DYTISCUS BEETLE 

 is a terror to the weaker inhabitants of the pond 



